Isn't It Love?

"You know, if it weren’t for her brother, she’d be nothing."

Risa listened to her classmates’ chatter from outside the classroom door. She hesitated to go in and grab something from her locker. But her brother was already waiting out on the school front gate.

"Eeeh, but I also want a brother like Risa’s brother, he’s too handsome and perfect."

"Yeah, yeah, I have an older brother too, but ugh, he’s nowhere near as good as Risa’s brother."

"Too bad, he’s graduating this year and heading to middle school. Haa... I hope he doesn’t find a girlfriend in there."

Risa kept hearing the gossip from her classmates. She didn’t really understand what they were talking about. Kai is just Kai, right? Why are they jealous of her?

"Risa, why you so long?"

Kai’s voice made Risa jump. She turned and saw her brother, his face as usual looking very bored with everything.

Kai walked over to his little sister, heard the voices from inside the classroom, peeked in slightly and found three girls talking about him. He then looked at his little sister and patted her head.

"Are you afraid of them? "

"Umm." Risa nodded, then hugged her brother, as usual she was very helpless and dependent on Kai. "I can’t get my pencil case from my locker."

Seeing that, Kai smiled widely, his face showing an expression a 12-year-old kid really shouldn’t make. He seemed to enjoy seeing his little sister always depending on him.

Releasing their hug, Kai held Risa’s hand and entered the classroom, surprising the three girls who were Risa’s classmates.

"Go get it, Risa."

Risa nodded and walked to her locker to take her things and put them in her bag. Kai’s eyes were still smiling, staring at the three girls.

"Got it, big bro."

Kai held Risa’s hand again and walked out of the classroom. Along the way, Risa kept looking up to see her brother’s face. She smiled, enjoying the walk home holding hands with her big brother.

Kai looked down to the side, flashing another smile at his little sister. That smile was very special to Risa because she knew her brother rarely smiled at others.

"Big bro, are you happy with me, your little sister?"

"Of course. I’m happy being near Risa."

"Even though Risa is like this, Risa is so bad at everything, and Dad and Mom don’t seem to like Risa either."

"Hmm..." Kai hummed, arranging his sweet words for his little sister. "In big bro’s opinion, Risa is already perfect..."

Risa looked at her brother who again made a rather... strange face. But somehow, that smiling expression calmed her heart.

Risa loves her brother. There’s nothing wrong with that.

"Risa is already perfect, stay like this... even if you can’t do anything, never change, because big bro will always be here with you."

⌈DEPEND ON ME FOR YOUR WHOLE LIFE AND I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU⌋

Risa never understood what her brother meant back then, but she was a good little sister, an obedient little sister who always listened to her brother. Nothing changed since then.

Until she entered middle school, everything became strange. Her brother didn’t change, she did. Maybe because she felt she didn’t deserve to be by her brother’s side or something, Risa started to pull away from him.

Their relationship was weird. No, both her and her brother were the weird ones.

But then that incident came. Her brother threw himself into the water while they were arguing. It made her heart beat so fast, because her brother didn’t surface for several minutes.

When that body floated up, she pulled him to the edge. Cold. No heartbeat. But not long after, his eyes opened.

Her brother asked strange things, about Brighton or whatever. He even called her by the name "Mimi."

Somehow deep inside, Risa felt as if her brother, Kai Clove, was not her brother anymore. She didn’t know how to say it, but the "person" inside her brother’s body was not "Kai" because Kai would never forget that she doesn’t really like sweet things.

This version of Kai was kind. Risa liked this "brother" because he so kind and seem so good. Even though he seemed like a "stranger" now, he genuinely tried to ’fix’ everything. He brought the atmosphere back home, made it better.

Even Father and Mother care again now. She knew it was all thanks to her ’current’ brother. Risa liked it. Risa loved her brother, but... the "old" is make her feels like "Risa" again.

Big bro... I...

✩₊˚.⋆ (º﹃º) ⋆.˚₊✩

"Do you love me and see me as more than just a brother, more than family? Do you see me as the opposite sex?"

Kai asked Risa a wild question. What he did wasn’t random, but truly to make sure "Risa’s route" was completely closed off to Ren forever.

He understood well the risk he would take. But Kai thought that risk was worth what he would get later.

Ren was way too overpowered. Just his existence could make the capture targets act like this. A route already this distorted, there was no guarantee everything would be fine, even before Ren’s story began.

I have to win back Risa’s heart before everything I’ve done these past few weeks, everything I’ve done to make things right with her, ends up in vain.

Risa pulled her head back, looking into her brother’s eyes. Her feelings were confused, her heart wasn’t beating fast, but looking at him, she hugged him again. She felt her brother’s heart beating quite fast. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Big bro... your heart is beating fast."

"You haven’t answered my question." Kai said, gently stroking her head. "So... what do you think of me..."

An older brother? A family member? Or... something more.

Risa loved her brother, that was true and there was nothing wrong with it, but what kind of love? Admiration, affection, or something else deeper. It all mixed into one.

"I don’t know... but do you remember, big bro, you once said ’Depend on me for your whole life and I will take care of you,’ you said that, right?"

Kai was silent. One thing crossed his mind.

The original Kai was truly insane.

He never imagined the body he inhabited could have thoughts like that. Ryan knew that "Kai" was a severe siscon character, but saying that when he and his little sister were still kids? That was truly insane.

"Yeah... I think ’I’ did say that... before."

"Why are you hesitating, big bro? You act like you forgot what you said." Risa stared at him and brought her face closer. "I’ve always wondered... is this really my brother? You really aren’t like the old Kai... I try not to notice it. But I can’t lie... recently you haven’t been like ’Kai’... you know that."

Ahh... I think it’s pointless to hide it anymore.

Kai sighed. If this is how it is, everything is already distorted. No use playing it safe. Being greedier is what he’ll do now.

"So... if the person in front of you right now is not ’your brother,’ what would you do?"

Kai’s words made Risa’s eyes widen. That was the golden question Risa had always imagined in her dreams. If Kai weren’t her biological brother... she might chase after him right away.

But, if they weren’t siblings, would her brother care about her?

That had always been the big question for Risa. But now, if her brother, Kai, wasn’t "Kai"... then the two of them would be strangers, right?

Even if the body is Kai’s body, if the soul isn’t her brother’s soul maybe Risa could do that chasing her ’love’ on him.

"..." Risa touched her chest. Her heart pounded hard thinking about it. The feeling came back. That feeling of ’love’ came back. "I..."

If the person in front of her wasn’t her real brother. They were strangers maybe they can...

"If you aren’t my brother... I want my real big brother back again."